Using data analytics and smart machine technology, Jobcase launched a social media Website and app to serve job seekers with non-traditional backgrounds.

A new Website, Jobcase.com, is designed to help adults with non-traditional backgrounds—or those who don't have a four-year college degree—look for a job and build networking contacts. The site, along with a mobile app, provides curated content and job leads from a wide range of career search sites.

Those with traditional degrees should also find value in the site, but Fred Goff, founder and CEO of Jobcase, points out that this platform will be particularly useful to people who lack a traditional string of chronological job experiences. These include freelancers and back-to-work mothers, as well as people looking to highlight their volunteer positions, such as the head of the Parent Teacher's Association.

"Jobcase is free, and you can get a wide range of answers to your questions, or experiences that relate to you and your job hunt," says Jobcase user Patricia Steelman. "I am using the site because it [offers] a down-to-earth approach."

The Website, which has a base of 40 million members, enables users to build their profiles around their abilities and skills. They can upload their résumé to the site or generate a platform-based résumé by using the information from their profile. Individuals also can track job-related activities, experiences and advice, and they can highlight comments from their colleagues.

Jobcase initially developed out of a hedge fund investment and focused on big data analytics and machine learning. An affiliate partner with MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, the company uses these analytics tools to power its Website and to search more than 100 career sites.

Joining Jobcase gives users the ability to "use our big data skills to unlock the right connections at the right time," says Goff, who says that 67 percent of Americans don't have a college degree.

As with Facebook, users can invite friends and build connections, but they also can reach out to an entire community for advice and help. Goff provides an example of someone who might be looking for a way to get a promotion at a particular company in a specific location. Using Jobcase's data analytics, that person can connect with other people who might have obtained a promotion at that business or in that city—or who have ideas about how to go about it.

Once registered, a user receives reminder emails to flesh out their profile, as well as invitations to join particular conversations. New features planned in the coming year include the ability for a user to follow a person, a company or a conversation, as well as tools that will allow employers to access the Jobcase community in an easier fashion.

"We're starting to get the news out there," Goff says. "It's a profitable business that's focused on empowering people."

Maggie O'Neill, a Baseline contributor, has worked as a reporter for more than 10 years.